I would ask that you would stop passing bills without considering the time it will take away from school personnel by adding another task to their already full plate. It is also not helpful to burden taxpayers in local communities with all the unfunded mandates. Also, why would we allow any Virginia students replace Virginia history and civic requirements with International Baccalaureate coursework? If they are students in Virginia, they should know the history of their state and their civic duties as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Thank you for your consideration. Karen M Wirsing

This course substitution for diploma requirements of international coursework should be safe for college or an elective. Not in the main framework of our K-12 educational system. Students need to understand our constitution and the government branches and how they helped our society developed from the beginning.

Opposition to SB63 — IB Substitutions for Virginia & U.S. History SB63 allows International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework to replace Virginia and U.S. history and government requirements for the Advanced Studies Diploma. This change undermines a core purpose of public education: ensuring every graduate understands the history, government, and civic foundations of the Commonwealth and the nation. Virginia’s history and civics standards are not interchangeable with global or comparative history courses. While IB programs offer academic value, they do not guarantee instruction in Virginia’s constitutional framework, state governance, or the rights and responsibilities of citizenship within the Commonwealth. Allowing substitutions creates unequal expectations across divisions and risks graduating students without essential civic knowledge. A Virginia diploma should certify that every graduate has learned Virginia and U.S. history, not a substitute. Civic literacy is not optional. Virginia’s history requirements should remain a cornerstone of the Advanced Studies Diploma.